Its not as big this cycle, perhaps due to the shrunken field of candidates in a Trump-dominated race.
He is the centerpiece of the Republican orbit.
And I have been looking for tea leaves to suggest otherwise ever since then.
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They will tell you that their job is not necessarily to pick the winner.
They know that they may not end up picking who will go on to be the eventual nominee.
Their job is to really winnow the field.
And you might think, well thats what youre supposed to do.
This time, he realizes, this is what you have to do.
Theyre doing it and they have money.
And its why his name identification and his history as a former president is going to help him.
But that kind of work is going to help them probably even more.
For example, Ted Cruz 2016.
So he brought in his own volunteer army.
And they also remember going to Trump headquarters.
It was somewhat businesslike, and it wasnt very crowded in terms of personnel.
… Well, he still finished second place.
What do I mean?
The Trump team tells me that theres about roughly 1,700 caucus locations, and theyve named 1,800 captains.
ZELENY:Eight years ago at this point right now, evangelical voters were very skeptical of Donald Trump.
He was a new Republican, no conservative voting record, from New York City….
But its also different than that.
Of course, they dont vote as a monolith.
And its not all church-going evangelicals.
Thats about as simple as you could describe it.
But again, its not a monolith.
SCOTT:One of the biggest challenges is deciding where to be.
And they feel as though their support is even stronger than in 2016.
It proves popular with his supporters.
Im looking out for the little guy.
My sense is that if youre going to get a guilty verdict, what is the guilty verdict about?
And until were there, I dont think we know.
I dont think we know the effect on voters.
He was promoting his book.
And there was so much anticipation around him.
They truly believed that he would pose the biggest challenge to the former president.
We reported that there was confrontations that almost came to blows among staff.
And so we have seen DeSantis start to lose traction in this state.
No voters have weighed in yet of course, so were all going based off of polls.
He visited all 99 counties.
Hes endorsed by the Republican governor.
ZELENY:A year ago this week.
I was in Florida for his inauguration.
And boy, what changed in a year.
MEYER:We were covering him even before he announced, and a lot of interest remember.
Everybody was talking about, Will Ron DeSantis enter the race?
Hes gonna challenge Trump, and Trump was already gearing up to attack him.
But they like the fact that Ron DeSantis could run for eight years if if he needed to.
Less than an hour later, his motorcade arrived and he commanded all this attention.
And he was in and out very quickly.
He didnt have to give a speech.
He didnt have to take questions from reporters or supporters or others.
He didnt appear on the Des Moines Register soapbox stage, like all candidates do.
At least that was his response to us.
One guy said, Why are you going so soft on Trump?
We need to win back the White House.
And that doesnt mean hes gonna win.
But I just think DeSantis may have built something stronger than people realize.
Shes closing in the strongest position of her campaign.
We will see what throw in of an effect that has.
Well see if that sort of eats into Trumps lead.
And she doesnt talk about her gender very often.
Shes certainly not running because shes a woman.
But it is clear that that is something that has captured the attention and interest of women.
And boy, you dont see many children at Donald Trump rallies.
You see a lot of young girls and kids at Haley rallies.
And there are those who go, Well youre not this outlet.
So you must be - All sorts of different terms.
ZELENY:A lot of Trump supporters want to explain their support for him.
They also feel a little bit like theyve been sort of caricatured and given a bad name.
And I expect between 2024 and 2028, then itll be itll be fractured even more.
As far as Trump going after the media, thats been thats been his strategy going back eight years.
But both of those elections were razor tight.
HILLYARD:I always tell voters that Im with NBC News, and give them my name.
Whats Next
HEMMER:If Trump captures 50% plus, his campaign has a major headline.
If its closer than polling has suggested, that wont surprise me.
Will it surprise others?
Was it as simple as being a cold night?
MEYER:you might go and campaign all you want.
Go to the state fair.
Be out there in Iowa.
Do two full Grassleys [by visiting all 99 counties].
And thats the biggest thing.
And Trump supporters were saying at the rally there that they are going to show up.
